My Thoughts on Taking “Vacations”

You put in the long hours at the office and after a period of time, you have earned enough hours to go on vacation!

In fact, given today’s naturally stressful work environment, vacations are important to help get recharged so you can continue to push forward and climb the corporate ladder.

Now, while I am an advocate of spending time away from the office, I do tend to caution people that spending too much time can also be dangerous. You see – my rule for taking vacation is: “If a company can do without you for two weeks – chances are, they can just do without you.” (add more time and the company just gets used to you not being there…)

Companies don’t stop because people are no longer present. In fact, one of the core principles in developing a great company is that it becomes people agnostic. Further, your job, I believe, as a great manager / leader in your organization, is to make yourself obsolete. That doesn’t necessarily imply you won’t have a position in the company after a certain point – rather, it means you are effective in ensuring that you have done your part to make sure the organization will continue in your absence.

So, the next time you are ready to exercise your vacation time, ensure that you have done your best to provide for continuity in your absence; that people, in case of an emergency, know how to get a hold of you; and finally, be mindful of the rule above.